BY DOUG OSWALD
Michael
Caine plays a British Petroleum engineer on loan to the army during WWII and
assigned to British controlled North Africa. He’s drafted to lead a group of
disparate men on a mission behind enemy lines to destroy a German coastal fuel
depot in “Play Dirty†available on Blu-ray by Twilight Time. Playing chess
while supervising the transfer of fuel from British ships to coastal fuel
storage tanks, Captain Douglas (Caine) is ordered to report to Colonel Homerton
(Bernard Archard) who transfers him to the special services unit commanded by Brigadier
General Blore (Harry Andrews). He’s to lead a group of men under the command of
Colonel Masters (Nigel Green) including Captain Cyril Leech (Nigel Davenport),
a former prisoner who uses other criminals in his missions against the Germans.
When Douglas reminds the general he’s on loan from British petroleum for costal
duties only, the general reminds him he’s wearing a British uniform. Leech
doesn’t want him either, but Masters promises him a bonus payment of 2,000
British pounds if he brings back Captain Douglas alive.
Leech
and his motley crew of a half dozen criminal soldiers for hire with crimes
ranging the gamut from drug smuggling to rape and murder were released by Colonel
Masters from an Egyptian prison. They include a Tunisian named Sadok, the
demolition man; Kostos Manov, the armorer; Boudesh, communications; a Cypriot
named Kafarides, transport and supplies; Sinusi Arab guides, Hassan and Assine for
whom it is overtly hinted they are homosexual. Leech, a self described “black
sheep of an admirable family from County Dublin,†was the captain of a tramp
steamer in the Black Sea. Leech sunk it for the insurance money off Djibouti with
all hands on board. Colonel Masters ends the introduction with, “War is a
criminal enterprise. I fight it with criminals.â€
The
mission is to destroy a German fuel depot at Leptis Magna in western Libya.
They have to travel in a horseshoe route south around the German lines through
desert which resembles a moonscape of craggy rocks, sand and land mines which
they travel off road disguised as Italians in German trucks. The road is bumpy
and they go through their supply of tires as they blow out one by one. In one nail-biting
scene, the group has to use cable and pulleys to haul their trucks to the top
of a cliff. Soon a group of Germans arrive and they wait to ambush a British
patrol. Leech prevents Douglas from alerting the British and the Germans kill the
British patrol and depart. “You play dirty Captain Leech,†says Douglas. Leach
replies, “The way to survive here is to watch, listen and say nothing. I play
safe.†This doesn’t sit well with Captain Douglas who orders the men to bury the
dead British soldiers at gunpoint. Later, Captain Douglas asks, “Tell me, how
did the other English officer’s die?†Captain Leech replies without pause,
“Unexpectedly!â€
This
variation on the “men on an impossible mission†movie trope is quite possibly the
most nihilistic war movie ever made. I’ll not provide spoilers, but those who
have seen “Play Dirty†know what I mean. I first watched this movie on
broadcast TV in the 1970s on the ABC Friday night movie. This was on late night
television after prime time and was drawn to it after seeing the TV promo.
After that initial broadcast, the movie was hard to find on television. I was
able to read about this elusive movie which grew in stature in my mind with its
relentless themes of hopelessness and betrayal. These were the days before
cable TV and home video was a few years away. DVD, Blu-ray, Netflix &
Amazon Prime were decades away. I finally caught up with this movie in its DVD
release by MGM in 2007. That was at least a 30 year wait. I upgraded to “The
War Collection†UK Blu-ray release by MGM in 2014.
Directed
by Andre De Toth, “Play Dirty†was his final official screen credit as
director. He was the uncredited director on the 1987 horror film “Terror
Night.†The one-eyed De Toth is probably best known as the director of the 3-D
classic “House of Wax†in 1953. An irony lost on very few. He was known for
directing gritty westerns and thrillers as well as episodes of several popular
TV shows in the 50s and 60s. De Toth replaced Rene Clement who walked after
Richard Harris was fired, allegedly for refusing a military style haircut. The
movie was filmed on location in Spain, standing in for North Africa.
Cinematographer Edward Scaife was the director of photography on “The Dirty
Dozen,†the original prisoners-turned-soldiers on an impossible mission movie.
Released
by United Artists in January 1969, the cynical attitude depicted in “Play
Dirty†can be viewed as partially influenced by the Vietnam War which was waging
at the time. Military movies of this era were often a commentary on the Vietnam
War, as with the Korean War setting of Robert Altman’s 1970 classic, “M*A*S*H.â€
When we first meet Captain Douglas, he’s relaxing on the sunny North African
coast of the Mediterranean Sea playing chess via semaphore with an unknown
opponent on a ship anchored off shore while supervising the off loading of oil.
He’s on loan to the British Army from British Petroleum with an agreement he
will remain safely behind British lines away from the Germans. Not unlike much
of America who were thousands of miles away from the war in Vietnam watching prime
time TV and grilling hot dogs in the suburbs. Captain Douglas is anticipating
good news when he’s ordered to meet with Colonel Homerton, who reminds Douglas
he’s under British military command. The mission he accepts is more fever dream
than dream command as we join follow him on his journey. Like the scorpion
trapped by flames at the start of the movie, Captain Douglas is also trapped.
Produced
by Harry Saltzman, co-producer of the James Bond series, he collaborated
previously with Michael Caine and Nigel Green on the cynical spy thriller
classic, “The Ipcress File†in 1965. Caine also worked with Saltzman on “Funeral
in Berlin†(1966), “Billion Dollar Brain†(1967) and “Battle of Britainâ€
(1969). No stranger to military roles, Caine was perfectly cast in “Play
Dirty.â€
The
region free Blu-ray disc clocks in at 118 minutes, looks and sounds terrific
with an isolated effects track and music score by Michel Legrand. The trailer is
the only other extra, but this Twilight Time release includes a booklet with an
essay written by Julie Kirgo. “Play Dirty†is not everyone’s cup of tea, but
the casting of Caine, Green and Davenport alone is worth your time. (This release is a limited edition of 3,000 units.)
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(For extensive coverage of the making of "Play Dirty", see Cinema Retro Movie Classics Films of WWII special issue.)